Fellow Republican John F. Bush, 70, is a former Winter Springs mayor who says the incumbent hasn't been visible in the district and unfairly tried to punish Seminole's prized but financially challenged schools this year.

The two are set to square off in the Aug. 14 primary election for a newly drawn House District 28 seat in a race with broader overtones for Seminole County politics, where incumbent GOP leaders have seldom been questioned, let along challenged in primaries.

"My goal is to represent the district," Bush said. "I don't think Jason is a bad guy. I've known him for years. I voted for him in 2010. I hosted a coffee for him in my house. I just think I can do a better job."

The tipping point for Bush came when Brodeur in the last weeks of the 2012 session tried to pass an amendment blocking Seminole from cutting programs or closing schools, and forcing administrators making over $100,000 to take steep pay cuts.

The amendment was aimed at Seminole Schools Superintendent Bill Vogel, who had complained that the Legislature's budget-cuts were hampering one of Florida's top-rate school districts.

Brodeur offered the amendment in concert with Rep. Chris Dorworth, a Lake Mary Republican who is in line to be House speaker in 2014 and a past roommate of Brodeur's in Tallahassee. Dorworth is facing his own GOP primary organized by a group of disgruntled Seminole GOP executive committee members.

Brodeur says the now-scrapped budget amendment was necessary because school administrators during the session were threatening to shutter schools – including one that employs his mother – if local voters didn't approve a tax increase. The threats were riling up parents, Brodeur said, in the midst of legislative budget negotiations.

"We know the schools in Seminole County are fantastic and are an economic driver for us and should be," Brodeur said. "What isn't a good narrative in the GOP primary is that if we just throw more money at it, the problems will go away."

THE CANDIDATES

Brodeur, who lives in Sanford, is a University of Florida graduate who worked for Proctor & Gamble for more than a decade before forming his own health-care consulting business and delving into politics. He declared a nearly $5,000 income last year from Anchor Consulting, in addition to his $28,913 legislative salary.

A former Seminole Republican chairman, he immediately made a name for himself as a freshman lawmaker in 2011 by sponsoring legislation nicknamed the "Docs vs. Glocks" bill, which as originally written would have fined physicians $5 million for asking patients questions about firearms in their homes.

The bill drew a national media spotlight – and furious lobbying efforts, especially by pediatricians who maintain gun storage in the home is a critical safety issue. A watered-down version finally passed and was quickly blocked by a Miami federal judge – and last week, permanently tossed by the court. Brodeur says an appeal is planned.

This year, he carried the House bill to reform Florida's regional workforce boards in light of scandals over how the boards were spending tax dollars. The bill was inspired in part by problems exposed by the Orlando Sentinel at Workforce Central Florida. Gov. Rick Scott last year forced its board members to resign after Sentinel reports of questionable spending, super-hero capes given out to the unemployed, and other questionable practices.

Then, Brodeur sparked a hometown political brawl with the Seminole-targeted budget amendment, which the Senate ultimately refused to consider.

Brodeur has since hired the daughter of Seminole School Board Chair Tina Calderone to work for his campaign.

He says he adhered to his campaign pledges in 2010, but isn't taking his re-election for granted – despite the significant financial and political advantages he holds over Bush.

"Nobody owns the seat, and the gentlemen I am running against has a great name and has run for office before," Brodeur said. "If I had to pick between his name and mine, I'd pick his."

Bush, who is no relation to the former governor or presidents, worked for 16 years as director of admissions and registrar at the University of Central Florida.

His wife is a retired English teacher and former assistant principal in Seminole schools. Both his daughters became teachers in the district. So, it's no surprise the Seminole teachers' union plans to strongly back his campaign, and administrators will likely join them.

"I'll catch a lot of flak for that, because Republicans are supposed to not like unions," Bush said. "But these are teachers and they're working with our kids. They're people, just like me."

Bush is also a household name within Winter Springs, where he served as mayor from 1993-96, and 2002-10 – leaving even before term-limits would have required it.